Stanwyck Walking Out On Matriarch Role

June 27, 1986|By George Maksian, New York Daily News

Say goodbye to Barbara Stanwyck. The legendary 78-year-old actress, who came out of semiretirement last fall to play the family matriarch on ABC's Dynasty spinoff series, The Colbys, is not expected to return to the nighttime serial next season. She had been complaining for some time about the way her character was developing on the program and finally told the producers that she had had it and wanted out.

It won't be hard for the producers at Aaron Spelling Productions to write Barbara out of the script. In one of the series' final episodes last spring, Barbara's character, Constance Colby, had gone off on a world cruise with a friend. Presumably, that will be the last we hear from her.

One Hollywood source was reported as saying that Stanwyck was so firm about her decision not to return that she wanted her character killed off. A spokesman for the producers would not confirm those reports. Stanwyck was not available for comment. One of the perks in her contract with Spelling Productions was that she would not be required to give any press interviews.

Meanwhile, The Colbys is scheduled to resume production for the fall in mid-July, with Charlton Heston again playing the patriarch of the family, Jason Colby. Most of the other characters on the program also are expected back.

Included are Stephanie Beacham as Jason's wife, Sable; Katharine Ross as Sable's sister and Jason's part-time lover; and John James and Emma Samms as Jeff and Fallon Colby. Also returning will be Ricardo Montalban and Ken Howard, although the latter may do only a limited number of appearances due to his crossover role on Dynasty.